Edmonton Oilers training camp opened Wednesday, with medicals and fitness testing.
But most of the focus was on the club’s General Manager. Stan Bowman met the media to answer questions, the most common and compelling of which was the future of Connor McDavid in Edmonton.
Let’s open with how Bowman characterized the conversations with 97, and then fold in various other comments on the captain and his situation:
– “A dialogue when he has questions, more free flowing conversations. He’s got a real good pulse on the team as the leader and the captain, and I want to understand that so we’re kind of working together. Not so much a sales pitch, but more conversations about the team for this year and the future. Also what we did well last year and hat we can change”.
– “He does ask me where I envision things. It does definitely touch on the future”.
– “I just go by what Connor says, he’s going through his own ( ) and I think you have to understand and respect that. When he’s ready he’s ready. It’s on our mind too, but we’ve had multiple conversations, and he’s been very consistent”.
– “Whenever I talk to Connor, it’s never about money. I’ve never got the impression that he’s really focused on money. I just don’t get that impression. He’s all about winning”.
Asked about how anxious the fans feel:
– “It’s hard I get it; there’s a lot of anxiousness. I trust what Connor Says. At the end of the day when Connor says there’s nothing he wants more than to win in Edmonton I believe him. I love hearing it, when he says that. I have no reason to question him. It has to feel right, two days from now or two weeks from now whatever it is he’ll be ready”.
On Zach Hyman’s rehabilitation:
– “He’s doing well in his rehab but as far as his timelines no I don’t have that yet. He’s not going to miss much time if any. I’m not going to worry about Zach Hyman”. Hyman is no longer wearing a cast. But he will not be on the ice for Day One of camp, at least. For now he is skating on his own and expect to at least be practicing with the main club by the start of the regular season.
On Stan Bowman’s general approach this fall:
-“(We’re) focused more on where we’re headed, not where we came from”.
On the Jake Walman/Matias Ekholm contracts:
– “We have had preliminary discussions, I don’t know if we’re going to wrap all those up in the next little bit. There’s a number of players who we’ve already engaged in their agents, a lot of encouraging discussions”.
On Walman opening the reason on Darnell Nurse’s right-hand side:
“I suspect they will be a pair. It think that’s pretty likely that going to be the case. Jake indicated that he loves left or right just prefers to stay wherever he is. The way that Jakes moves around, it’s nice to have him on the offside. There’s a good chance he and Darnell will be together”. Walman confirmed that, in his avail later.
On the goaltending:
– “I just really like (Stuart Skinner’s) attitude coming in, he trained really hard. If we can get the consistency in Stu’s game. I’m optimistic. This is a new year; I don’t want to live in the past. If there’s an ability to upgrade, we’ll do it”
On whether Carter Hart could be part of that equation:
– “No, we’re not looking at those types of situations. I really like where Stu’s at, I think we’re going to go forward with that”.
On Matt Savoie/Ike Howard:
– “A desire to break some younger players in and bring sone speed and enthusiasm into our lineup. I think they’re going to bring an element that we need on our team. I’m looking at it more optimistically, the expectations will high for both of them, recognize the players they are in October will not be the players they will be in March.
Finally, Head Coach Kris Knoblauch on McDavid contract status and it’s impact on the club:
-“I think this group can handle pretty much anything and they’ve seen pretty much anything. It’s not a young group. There’s been a lot of situations where these players have gone through similar circumstances. Obviously not a player at Connor’s level, not going into the last year of his contract and all that stuff. . I don’t think it will be a distraction”.
On-ice sessions begin tomorrow (Thursday). The first pre-season action will be a split-squad game against Calgary Sunday.
This article is not AI generated.
Recently, at The Cult…
STAPLES: McDavid suggests future “remains to be seen” beyond 2025-26
LEAVINS: Spotlight quickly shifts from rookies to the Oilers big guys.
Bruce McCurdy, 1955-2025.
Don’t miss the news you need to know — add EdmontonJournal.com and EdmontonSun.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.